So when Ed introduced them to the Panera Bread in a typical suburban mall, the boys couldn’t help but smirk inside. They already liked Ed’s style- his thoughtful nature and descriptive personality- as he introduced the neighboring Barnes & Noble and Trader Joe’s as if they were unknown places of sanctuary for the weary traveler.
Stepping inside Panera, their order was taken by the lovely Kaylee, who was digging their idea. The conversation with Ed revolved around many interesting topics- politics, conspiracy theories, women, and walking dogs, all of which were on Ed’s mind as a single ‘suburban droid’, as he called himself, living and working in suburban Chicago. The community builders tending to agree that Ed was a kind and interesting individual, but perhaps a bit overwhelmed by the adventuristic nature of these journeymen.
Still, Ed really wanted to help these guys out. He knew of a friend in a southern suburb of Chicago named Jeff whom he had met through festivities modeled after the free-thinking style of the Burning Man Festival in the desert west whom Ed described as a modern-day hippie. However, this Jeff (or maybe his fiancé) really wasn’t hippie enough for taking these guys in for the night. The campaigners were happy to have met Ed, and wish him all the best in his endeavors to meet chicks though volunteering as a dog-walker for the humane society.
Resorting now to Plan B, the stallions struck up another conversation with Kaylee, and got her a little more excited about the idea of building community. So excited, in fact, that she took the initiative to call her mom and ask if these four weird guys with orange shirts could stay at their house! Cathy & Tim were at Panera within a few minutes to meet these guys and see if they passed the test to sleep in their basement…
Jenny was also very helpful at Panera
Even though our heroes weren’t strong supporters of John McCain like Cathy would have liked, and despite the warnings that Tim liked to sleep with a loaded shotgun by his side, the Horan’s decided to let the community builders into their life for the next 16 hours. While Cathy was loving the idea right from the start, it took Tim just a few more minutes to warm up to the boy’s community spirit.
But back in the backyard of their home for the night, warm up is just what Tim did. Turns out, Tim had a story for every topic of conversation that was brought up throughout the night. Crazy road trips… Tim had been stranded in a blizzard in Pennsylvania. The boys had slept in a hunting shack last night… Tim had hunted and skinned buffalo. And if you wanted one-liners, Tim had them. He described somebody’s grandma with ‘one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel’ and loved to allude to the cakes won by the fellas as made from ‘bratwurst & cheese’ because they were from Wisconsin.
After wrapping up a campfire-esque evening of conversation, the boys headed down to the basement which more resembled a haunted patriotic antique shop. But despite the scythe hanging above them, the voodoo dolls in the cabinet, and the shrine of George W. Bush at their feet, the boys slept surprisingly well!
After a breakfast of some leftover Panera bagels, the community builders received a pleasant visit from the Horan’s neighbor Evey, an amazingly strong woman who, at age 73, was a cross-country cyclist and an inspiration to meet. Evey’s latest cross country excursion was riding the path of the Underground Railroad with her friend Sandy. The ladies had done a bit of their own community building on this ride, such as sleeping on the floor of a newly opened showroom, staying on the third floor of a ballroom, and interviewing some of descendents of slaves who had escaped by Underground Railroad.
Even more fortunate for these boys was the fact that Sandy and her friend Warren were living on the outskirts of Indianapolis. After a quick phone call, they were totally down for hosting the four strangers in orange shirts! The stallions couldn’t thank Evey enough!
Evey & Tim
This morning, Cathy was really fired up to show the boys the community of Arlington Heights, fully equipped with her recently gifted signature orange shirt. First up for the stallions was Village Hall, where they tried to catch up with the mayor who was a personal friend of Cathy. When she wasn’t in, the boys had the pleasure to meet Donna, Tiffany, and Kelly at the engineering department. Donna was also involved with the village’s American Legion Auxiliary, and promised to put their picture on the website!
Donna, Kelly & Tiffany
Bob loved these stallions too!
The next visit was to the only member of the Horan family the stallions had not yet met- their son T.J. This man had a passion for knives, and he had turned that passion into a profession. These were some high-quality custom-made works too, using the skin of sting-rays!
Finally, it was off to Choo Choo Hamburgers where the burgers were brought out by train. It was a perfect sendoff from Cathy & Tim, who were quite accommodating hosts and whose presence throughout the entire duration of our heroes stay in Arlington Heights will be never forgotten!
1 comment:
Looks like a good time! I live in Chicago now near Wrigley Field, if you ever need a place to crash!!
- Meredith formerly from Miami (Ohio) now living in Chicago and attending UIC...
Post a Comment